Photo: color line/Flickr

In just a couple of days it will be March. That’s right — March! Spring! Crocuses and daffodils! The end of daylight savings, and the return of sun!

Though I am currently daydreaming about asparagus and strawberries and green garlic, Boston’s produce is still firmly in its dead-of-winter phase. Luckily, this roasted carrot salad from Journey Kitchen manages to spotlight everyone’s favorite winter vegetable while transporting the reader to warmer climes — truly, there’s nothing like a bit of sumac to bring the desert to you. Maybe turn up the heat in your house to further the effect.

Locavores will note that this salad contains cherry tomatoes, which are certainly not in season but somehow manage to taste decent all-year round (unlike their meatier cousins). As a somewhat goopier substitute, I’m sure drained canned tomatoes would work, too. Let’s face it — this time of year, we could probably all use the lycopene.